OPINION: UT-Tyler Takes Another Step Towards Neo-Marxist Transformation

(Photo by Justine Warrington, "School" via Flickr)

The neo-Marxist takeover is going forward at UT-Tyler. The university has hired yet another diversity officer for the institution, according to AVP Joshua Neaves who made the announcement to faculty on September 15. 

The new Director for Student Diversity and Inclusion will help with “enhancing” diversity programs and with “providing training” to students, Neaves said. Moreover, the director’s will also oversee an new “Center for Unity” which, according to its website, seeks to help students understand “narratives” and “intersections” that “make up you and your community.”  

Unfortunately, the director’s addition is another step the ongoing, neo-Marxist transformation that is happening at UT-Tyler. Readers should see it as such and realize their need to step-up their participation in university governance in order to preserve traditional values in these institutions. 

First of all, consider the highly “political” nature of the director’s position. Though not actually political, as in Republican or Democrat, the director certainly has an avowed position of support and advocacy for adoption of neo-Marxists, social justice theory within the institution.

For example, according to an expired job post for UT-Tyler on Higher Ed Jobs, the Director of Student Diversity and Inclusion will work “serve as a resource supporting…social justice education” among students and student organizations.  Moreover, the director will also “design innovative educational initiatives to impact students…”and finally, “utilize data analytics in assessing the University’s campus climate.” (Doubtless the assessments will be to measure campus conformity to the neo-Marxist ideals within DEI).  

It becomes clear that the new director’s position is an ideological position, and political in its nature at that. This position, it appears, will work to see the adoption of neo-Marxist social standards throughout campus, specifically with student organizations and all those institutional other components that interact with students.

It also becomes incredibly hard to overlook the apparent political nature of the position when one considers it in light of the DEI industry as the vehicle for a neo-Marxist takeover (as crazy as this might sound).  

Consider: according to critical race theory scholar James Lindsey in his video “DEI Explained”, critical race theorists within an institution use diversity and inclusion as mechanisms to exclude their opponents and establish power for themselves and their associates within the institution.  

For example, Lindsey says that the main goal in DEI is “equity” which he says is “a rebranding of socialism.” Furthermore, it is not hard to see how this term fits the phenomena when one casually observes the centralizing administrative nature of so much of DEI thought and the class-based separations DEI practitioners employ. That is, that DEI separates people into identity groups and on the basis of identity politics.

Now, Lindsey says the goal in equity is to establish an administered economy where resources are redistributed to so people are equal. He says that neo-Marxists are just like classical Marxists, only they expand their concerns beyond economics to include identity politics, as well. Therefore, their emphasis on group identity.

To realize their goal, Lindsey says that neo-Marxists seek to install “political officers” into positions of power so that they can administer the redistribution of resources to so-called protected groups through the mechanisms of diversity and inclusion. Lindsey says that inclusion becomes the basis for “censorship and purges”. People who do not positively affirm a historically marginalized or oppressed group are eventually removed.

He states that the obsession with power dynamics that, according to critical race theorists, led to systems that previously excluded groups (like LGBTQ+ or trans people, for example [my example]) means that anyone who has an offensive idea has to be removed because they are continuing a harmful power dynamic that led to marginalization and exclusion of supposedly oppressed groups. (The same goes with categories of gender, fat status and other identity politics.) So, purges.  

Therefore, Lindsey says that “The Party ideology and The Party Apparatchiks get to have all of the say and get to have all of the positions.” Purges on the basis of diversity and inclusion clear the way for The Party’s ascendancy. 

Now, how does this relate to UT-Tyler? It is not difficult to see how the new director’s position, being the primary resource for the university with respect to DEI related to students, , can become intricately involved in disputes wherein the director injects their expectation that stakeholders adhere to critical race theory precepts for resolving conflicts. .. Moreover, it is easy to see how this office could contribute to the degradation of social power for the traditionalists or for just everyday normal people through their noncompliance with social justice critical theory. Again, leading to purges. 

Therefore, readers should have concern for the potential influence this position could wield upon the university’s environment. Given its explicit ideological nature and position to influence the purging of dissidents and the ascension of neo-Marxists, more like a political officer than a traditional administrator, readers should see this position’s addition to UT-Tyler’s staff as another step in the university’s neo-Marxist transformation. 

What Should We Do? 

So what should opponents to the university’s progress do? UT-Tyler’s addition of another diversity officer ought to remind Conservatives and opponents of critical race theory of the importance of their participation in the mechanisms of university shared governance. That is, Conservative students should run for student government and serve on student fee committees so they can positively influence university policy. 

Moreover, alumni should write to UT-Tyler President Kirk Calhoun and UT-System Regent Kevin Eltife and express their expectation that both officers uphold classical Western education at UT-Tyler and traditional Judeo-Christian standard of justice.

Finally, outside observers like myself can and should try to increase the visibility of university activity in order to bring other stakeholders with like values into the discussion. This I will endeavor to do. 

However, until then, the transformation marches on. Thankfully, there is still opportunity for good people to get involved.

Twitter: @Jhescock12

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Feature image: "School" by justine warrington via Flickr